Photography
Thomas Carabasi was born in Philadelphia in 1954 and has over forty years of professional experience as an artist, musician and educator. In 1977, he earned a BA in Art History from Princeton University with a concentration in photography. His undergraduate studies at Princeton included a variety of studio classes, lectures and seminars with Emmet Gowin and Peter Bunnell. After college, Carabasi was an apprentice and printer for fine art photographers Paul Caponigro in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Frederick Sommer in Prescott, Arizona. After moving back to Philadelphia in 1980, Carabasi opened his own studio and began teaching at several colleges and organizations in the area, including Moore College of Art, Princeton University and the International Center of Photography. In 1991, he earned an MFA in Photography from Temple University, Tyler School of Art and started teaching at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, where he served as the chair of the Photography and Imaging department from 1996-2024. During this time, he was also a guest lecturer and instructor at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York City and the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. He received grants from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and Australian Council of the Arts and since 2009, has also developed workshops, exhibitions and projects with students and faculty from Belgium, Finland, England, Germany and Costa Rica. His work has been featured in numerous national and international exhibitions, including Art Basel, Miami, The Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Photo Eye, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Princeton University, The Ringling Museum of Art and the Accademia di Bella Arti, Bologna, Italy. His collections include The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Center for Creative Photography, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, The Princeton University Art Museum and the Museo Ken Damy in Milan, Italy.
Music
Since the mid-1990’s, Thomas has been an active musician performing his blend of jazz and Brazilian music, mostly in Sarasota and the Tampa Bay area. His early professional years included work with the jazz fusion ensemble “Montage” from 1975-1977 and the alto saxophonist Richie Cole’s group “Alto Madness,” featuring vocalist Eddie Jefferson. From 1981-1991, he performed and recorded in Philadelphia with many local groups, including the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble and percussionist Ian Dogole’s Global Fusion Music group. Since moving to Sarasota in 1991, Carabasi has performed and recorded with many of the area’s top jazz artists, including Manfredo Fest, Kenny Drew Jr., Nathen Page, Michael Royal, Kenny Soderblum, Patrick Bettison and the Michael Ross Quartet. He has also made guest performance appearances with the Florida Orchestra (with Manfredo Fest), the Clayton Brothers, David Amram, Ted Rosenthal, Stephon Harris and Bob Berg. In 2001, he produced a critically acclaimed CD entitled “Portraits in Black and White,” featuring Kenny Drew, Jr. on piano, which explored the rich rhythms and harmonies of both Brazilian and American Jazz. He still performs regularly with his own groups in Florida and will be opening for the Marcus Miller band at the 2025 Sarasota Jazz Festival on March 22nd.